Brain Fog/haze With Finasteride After Being Off Medication For 2 Weeks +

[Anand0001]

Hey guys,
I was on generic finasteride for 1 month. I started with 1 mg for 5 days and started to have intense anxiety and migraine like pain in my head. It kind of felt like my IQ was 20 something. So I stopped and for 5 days and the side-effects seemed to subside a little but were not completely gone.
Since, Finasteride is probably the only option for male pattern baldness I decided to take 0.5mg every day and the side-effects seemed to progressive increase and get worse. I was hoping my body will adjust and kept going for another 20 days till it was unbearable.
I have been off it for 16 days now, and my side-effects seem to improve only a little and I am a little freaked out.
I am having serious anxiety because of it but I am trying to keep calm, follow a healthy lifestyle to give my body best chance to recover.

Does anybody else have faced the similar side-effects I just mention? If someone had, how long did it take to completely subside. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[badhabiz]

as you've been told this medication symptoms are triggered by your personality.
you may not the best candidate to take it in the long run if you dont lower stress/cortisol

get your hormones (and precursors) checked in order to calm down

 

[Anand0001]

its the anxiety itself that is triggering the symptoms i suppose

Are you suggesting its all nocebo??

 

[Anand0001]

its obviously not 100% but as someone who has suffered form nocebo of various substances it surely could be. i have had panic attacks for an entire year even though everything was fine. i went to a doctor and got it checked out and when they found nothing the symptoms got better quickly. but it felt so real i would have lashed out at anybody who would have doubted me. but it could be the finasteride-unlikely in my opinion though. i also had SEVERE ED and loss of libido for 7 months last year but as soon as i stopped obsessing over it and seeing doctors it got better. had i been on finasteride i would have made the fear mongering horror posts for sure. thats the thing, people get ED and pelvic floor issues that lead to sexual dysfunction all the time even at our age

It feels very real. .And tbh I myself feel that anxiety is exaggerating it a little. But up to some degree I think the sides are very real.

Did all the side-effects subside for you?

I mean I have always struggled with general anxiety, it runs in my family.. But this is completely different and It's like my anxiety is off-charts. Plus the brain fog, I feel a little stupid.

 

[Anand0001]

its obviously not 100% but as someone who has suffered form nocebo of various substances it surely could be. i have had panic attacks for an entire year even though everything was fine. i went to a doctor and got it checked out and when they found nothing the symptoms got better quickly. but it felt so real i would have lashed out at anybody who would have doubted me. but it could be the finasteride-unlikely in my opinion though. i also had SEVERE ED and loss of libido for 7 months last year but as soon as i stopped obsessing over it and seeing doctors it got better. had i been on finasteride i would have made the fear mongering horror posts for sure. thats the thing, people get ED and pelvic floor issues that lead to sexual dysfunction all the time even at our age

Are you considering taking finasteride again? Or have you given up on hairloss? Coz I don't want to put that thing in me again, which effectively means it's over for my hair.

 

[Anand0001]

as you've been told this medication symptoms are triggered by your personality.
you may not the best candidate to take it in the long run if you dont lower stress/cortisol

get your hormones (and precursors) checked in order to calm down

Lowering stress/cortisol is something not easily done considering the profession I am in. Does that mean I should stray away from the medication.

 

[badhabiz]

Lowering stress/cortisol is something not easily done considering the profession I am in. Does that mean I should stray away from the medication.

so, consider it.
besides psychological effects/symptoms, finasteride inhibiting 5ar type II pushes T that ends up converting in estrogens (plus 15%).
thats the problem, not inhibiting dht but the hormonal imbalance caused by the estrogens' spyke.
some (most) people dont suffer from it because of the good genetical aromatase enzyme.
if you dont control estrogens you cant control finasteride (psychological and not) effects.

 

[Anand0001]

so, consider it.
besides psychological effects/symptoms, finasteride inhibiting 5ar type II pushes T that ends up converting in estrogens (plus 15%).
thats the problem, not inhibiting dht but the hormonal imbalance caused by the estrogens' spyke.
some (most) people dont suffer from it because of the good genetical aromatase enzyme.
if you dont control estrogens you cant control finasteride (psychological and not) effects.

So how do you control estrogen boost?

 

[badhabiz]

So how do you control estrogen boost?

i use topical anti androgen with minimal dosage (0,005%) and weekly dermarolling + daily minoxidil.
but first of all be sure you have AA!
cause hair loss may stem from androgenetic disorder, but also severe lack of vitamins (like vitamin D) or minerals (like zinc or copper), depression, antidepressants prolonged use, thyroid's issues, too much iron, hormonal imbalance etc

 

[Anand0001]

i use topical anti androgen with minimal dosage (0,005%) and weekly dermarolling + daily minoxidil.
but first of all be sure you have AA!
cause hair loss may stem from androgenetic disorder, but also severe lack of vitamins (like vitamin D) or minerals (like zinc or copper), depression, antidepressants prolonged use, thyroid's issues, too much iron, hormonal imbalance etc

I am sure I have AA. I am shedding since 15, and all my three maternal uncles were bald before 25. So yeah, I am pretty much bald in next two years.
I tried minoxidil for a year, but I really thought it never worked that well for me. There was no initial shedding as claimed, and my hairloss progression might have slowed down a little(there still was shedding but lesser degree) but I thought it was not worth it, so gave up and tried finasteride and ended up here.

Do you include finasteride in your regime?

 

[Anand0001]

the increase in estrogen in completely negligible thats why most people don't notice a difference. and i am on finasteride right now, the sides where from something completely unrelated. thats my point, you can get it for other things as well. i never had a panic attack before in my life but during this time i had heart rates of just under 200 during a lecture and i thought i had a brain aneurism because it felt so weir. but it was all i my mind it seems(that and psychedelics overuse but this was 3 months after i stopped so nothing was in my body anymore)

anyway all you can do right now is wait and see a doctor to maybe get your blood and symptoms checked out. good luck

What kind of blood tests? To check my hormones ?? (Sorry to be so dumb to ask)

Plus, this is encouraging me to try finasteride again, maybe in a month or so when I feel completely okay, because even if it's just nocebo I guess it will take time to subside.

What dosage are you on? Are you using generic or brand name propecia?

 

[badhabiz]

these symptons are multifactorial and not only caused by hormonal imbalance, alot has been told about neurosteroids and lifestyle, but this is an issue.
"Arising from aromatisation of testosterone (T), oestrogen is considered to have many opposing physiological functions and the progressive T decline in the aging male is associated with relative and/or absolute increase in serum oestradiol (E2). Sexual disinterest and erectile dysfunction (ED) in the elderly may well be due to pathophysiological E2–T imbalance; the altered hormonal ratio may also explain the higher incidence of ED in hyperestrogenism or following exposure to environmental/plant oestrogens."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3739617/

but, of course, there are many others factors.
indeed, a drug like clomid ( a dopamine agonist) is proved to be effective against finasteride side effects, and its function is to improve T/ estradiol ratio. so lowering estradiol is one of the best way to overcome this side effects.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16422830

 

[Manochoice]

I am not on Finasteride so you are welcome to dismiss my comments. I did read a lot of threads amd some literature about it though and I can yell you one thing for sure: Nobody can tell you what your situation is. Everyone will give you this or that advice but in reality no one can tell you how is going to work for you just because it worked for them. Best you can do is inform yourself, ask questions, see how other have done ut but in the end you will have to decide for yourself considering that you will be the one that either reaps the benefits or suffers the consequences. Just because one did not have sides or they subsided it doesn't mean that you won't. And just because one did end up f*****g themselves with this drug, it doesn't mean that it will happen to you. The thing with "all in your head" is a very risky way of approaching this issue. Some people have had better experience with working their way up into the drug while for others this proves to be bad. Don't dismiss your body with the "all your head" philosophy! Listen to it and to your guts! It all depends on how far you are willing to go. If you value your hair to the point that without ut you yoe just a miserable person who'd rather die, then the risks associated with Fina become much smaller. If you value your hair but are not willing to risk your overall health for it then the risks become greater. At the moment though it seems that Fina is the only true solution ti halt hair loss associated with male pattern baldness. Choose wisely as in 5, 10, 15 yeara from now you will live in the same body.

 

[Anand0001]

I am on a generic 1mg. yes, i would consult with a good doctor if you can and get my hormones checked, i would also tell him about your symptoms so he can decide what else to look for. but it has to really be a good one, not a dermatologist, best would be an internist or an endocrinologist maybe

I will try to fix an appointment as soon as possible. Just to reassure me, you struggled with sides for a year. .then restarted finally and had absolutely none sides at all? ?

This sounds very promising, and I want to be sure before I start again.

 

[Anand0001]

these symptons are multifactorial and not only caused by hormonal imbalance, alot has been told about neurosteroids and lifestyle, but this is an issue.
"Arising from aromatisation of testosterone (T), oestrogen is considered to have many opposing physiological functions and the progressive T decline in the aging male is associated with relative and/or absolute increase in serum oestradiol (E2). Sexual disinterest and erectile dysfunction (ED) in the elderly may well be due to pathophysiological E2–T imbalance; the altered hormonal ratio may also explain the higher incidence of ED in hyperestrogenism or following exposure to environmental/plant oestrogens."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3739617/

but, of course, there are many others factors.
indeed, a drug like clomid ( a dopamine agonist) is proved to be effective against finasteride side effects, and its function is to improve T/ estradiol ratio. so lowering estradiol is one of the best way to overcome this side effects.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16422830

All of this sounds like a lot of messing around with hormones. I just want to give it some time with hope that my hormones (if not nocebo) will come back to normal. If fina makes such hormonal changes in us, I don't think it's worth it. Do you believe that fina works on other hormonal changes in body apart from 5ar ? ?

 

[Anand0001]

I am not on Finasteride so you are welcome to dismiss my comments. I did read a lot of threads amd some literature about it though and I can yell you one thing for sure: Nobody can tell you what your situation is. Everyone will give you this or that advice but in reality no one can tell you how is going to work for you just because it worked for them. Best you can do is inform yourself, ask questions, see how other have done ut but in the end you will have to decide for yourself considering that you will be the one that either reaps the benefits or suffers the consequences. Just because one did not have sides or they subsided it doesn't mean that you won't. And just because one did end up f*****g themselves with this drug, it doesn't mean that it will happen to you. The thing with "all in your head" is a very risky way of approaching this issue. Some people have had better experience with working their way up into the drug while for others this proves to be bad. Don't dismiss your body with the "all your head" philosophy! Listen to it and to your guts! It all depends on how far you are willing to go. If you value your hair to the point that without ut you yoe just a miserable person who'd rather die, then the risks associated with Fina become much smaller. If you value your hair but are not willing to risk your overall health for it then the risks become greater. At the moment though it seems that Fina is the only true solution ti halt hair loss associated with male pattern baldness. Choose wisely as in 5, 10, 15 yeara from now you will live in the same body.

Tbh, this I exactly what I am trying to do. Not obsess over side effects and see if things return to normal. When it does maybe (maybe) I'll give another shot. If sides do come back I'll never look at hairloss industry again. And yes, hair is important for me. It has caused a lot of emotional trauma to me since I was a teenager.

 

[badhabiz]

All of this sounds like a lot of messing around with hormones. I just want to give it some time with hope that my hormones (if not nocebo) will come back to normal. If fina makes such hormonal changes in us, I don't think it's worth it. Do you believe that fina works on other hormonal changes in body apart from 5ar ? ?

The only thing i can say is : give it one whole month

 

[Incinerate]

Lol. You should stay away from fina. Trust yourself, it's not worth it man.

 

[Anand0001]

no this is not what i said, i had sides from a different drug but it turned out that they were mostly mental. but it felt so god damn real and when i googled it most of the results where about finasteride lol. HOWEVER i can assure you that I have read a lot of stories on /r/tressless on reddit of people having sides initially then getting off and when they got on they didn't have anymore sides. those stories exist en masse and actually they have contributed to my decision to start finasteride myself.

they think it has to do with the mindset they had when getting on the drug. if you are generally anxious, think a lot about sides etc, you will get them. and you won't notice that they are nocebo because thats the entire point of a nocebo

it doesn't mean that it will happen to you but it most certainly could. also the research data suggests that in some subjects side effects subsided after a while staying on the drug. although if the sides are unbearable thats of course not the way to go.

I went through all day today without obsessing over my symptoms. . And my symptoms seem to exponentially subside. I don't feel a 100% okay, but my symptoms are a lot better than it was the previous day.

What I make of this is that the side-effects was real, but the underlying cause was the nocebo and not the finasteride itself. I will give it some more time and maybe try again. Thank you for your insight. I will keep this thread updated.

 

[Anand0001]

Lol. You should stay away from fina. Trust yourself, it's not worth it man.

I know man, but if it's all nocebo, I don't want to loose my hair just because my sides were in my head. I will not be implusive, I will give it some time, see if sides subside and maybe give it another try with lower dosage.